UNION SPRINGS QUARRIES 73 



position they are now driving, the deposit having- been 

 proved in that direction. To show the greater regularity 

 and persistence of this bed the fact may be mentioned that 

 in searching for the gypsum no particular attention is paid 

 to knolls or rises of ground as at other localities, but the 

 attack of the deposit goes steadily on without reference to 

 surface inequalities, the gypsum being found regularly in de- 

 pressions as well as on knolls, although not so thick. The 

 amount quarried this year by the company as stated by the 

 secretary of the company would be io.ooo or 12,000 tons. 

 Their product has fallen off considerably in late years, due 

 to causes which I will try to explain later on. The selling 

 price of the plaster F. O. B. is $2.50 per ton ground. The 

 company ship either in bulk or in bags and either in the 

 lump or ground, the latter of course costing more. It is 

 said that the company ships most of this plaster to other 

 sections of the state and also to adjoining states. The 

 plaster is all of one grade and is called Cayuga Land 

 Plaster. A fair day's work for the mill is 50 tons, but this 

 can be increased considerably if necessary. Mr C. T. Backus 

 of Union Springs is the president of the company. Mr 

 Amos Clark of Union Springs is the treasurer. 



The operation of the mill is as follows: The gypsum is first 

 put through a Blake crusher, crushing to egg size and 

 smaller. Thence it goes to the "cracker" which is of the 

 coffee mill type of grinder. It is then elevated by conveyors 

 of the link belt type to a hopper; from this the material 

 goes to the burr stones, which crush it to a powder which 

 is grayish white in color. This powder is then con- 

 veyed to a large store room and when this room is full a 

 conveyor transports the material to another large store 

 room. From the store room the plaster is loaded on small 

 cars, weighed and run into railroad cars for shipment. At 

 present the material is all used for fertilizer. Mr Backus 

 states that he intends to experiment on calcining his gypsum 

 in the near future. The regular force of employees is 18 or 



